fall remix / wrap up

I feel like I have a clearer vision of my stye. Hint, it includes less button downs and more plain, flowy tops.

I feel emboldened to just jump in and wing it, when it comes to trying new things — instead of needing to have everything “together” first.

And I feel … relaxed. Really, really relaxed

Fall seems to be the season of shopping — but by starting the fall with this remix I could let go.

I had my 10 pieces. I didn’t need to get anything new. I didn’t need to dream about my closet for the fall.

I could simply focus on what was in front of me.

I could let these 10 pieces in my closet teach me something.

But don’t let me fool you with all this talk of relaxation and letting go. This remix thing was no easy task. :)

Just in case you need a quick refresher, here’s how it worked: I picked 10 pieces from my closet and created 10 outfits from them over the course of 10 days.

Whew!

I included everything you see in the photo above: 2 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 dress, and 3 tops, and 2 jackets/vests. I didn’t include any accessories — instead, they flowed in and out freely.

Looking for links to the specific pieces? I’ve got ’em for you right here.

Let’s jump right in with some Q+A.

Did you do much planning beforehand?

Truth be told, I decided to do this remix a little last minute.

I decided on my 10 pieces in about 4 minutes.

I didn’t think through my outfits beforehand to see if it would work “for the blog.”

I just jumped in and winged it.

And that turned out to be a blast.

If I’d thought about it too much beforehand, I might have gotten caught up on perfection — having 10 ideal pieces, having 10 ideal outfits planned — and the whole thing might not have happened.

Taking this as a life reminder that sometimes the best thing to do is to just get up and start.

Did your clothes work for the weather?

They totally did, and for me, that’s a mega win. I checked the 10 day forecast before starting the challenge, and while the weather waffled up and down over the course of the challenge, it still worked out.

We had a few super warm days where I was wishing for a pair of shorts, but really, it wasn’t too bad.

Did you wear anything that wasn’t included in your 10 pieces?

Yep! One particular day, my toes just wanted to be covered up, so I wore my cognac ankle booties instead of my open toe booties.

Not sweating it. :)

And, just to be totally clear, life activities (gym, sleeping, etc) still called for work out wear and PJ/loungewear, so those were still going on in the background when needed.

How did laundry work out?

Laundry was pretty normal. Or maybe I should say, normal for when I’m traveling.

I don’t usually wash my denim unless it really needs it, so the only things that needed a refresher mid-way was my tops. Since it was a tiny amount of clothes, I just gave ’em a quick steam or a good hand washing at my bathroom sink.

What did you learn about your personal style?

I learned that I’m less into button-downs than I used to be. Instead, I’m a fan of flowy tops, like my white cami and my black silk dress.

Not that I won’t wear my button downs anymore — I’m sure I’ll wear them all the time still. But I just know to think twice before adding another one to my wardrobe.

MY FAVORITE + LEAST FAVORITE OUTFITS

To me, these outfits are the epitome of my style — styled, but not overdone.

Outfit 9 was my ultimate fav. That slouchy on top, slouchy on bottom proportion was a total breakthrough, for me personally. This look is where my style is headed.

Least favs? Outfit 6 and outfit 4 (not pictured, click on over if you want to see ’em). And again, these outfits are beautiful, they just didn’t feel quite like me.

Since it’s back-to-school season and all, I gave each outfit a grade. If I had a report card for the challenge, it would read something like this:

Four A outfits, three B’s, two C’s, and one D.

Not too bad.

YOUR OUTFITS FROM #UNFANCYREMIX

This right here.

This was my favorite thing about doing the remix challenge.

Any time I got a little tired of my clothes or unhappy with an outfit, I’d scroll through your photos and posts.

It lifted me up because (A) it reminded me that I’m not alone — we’re all figuring this thing out together, and (B) it reminded me that it’s less about the success of the outfits, and more about what the challenge teaches us along the way.

The good news? The remix fun doesn’t have to end. If you missed out this time around, but you still want to give it a try, join my friend Lee of Style Bee for her remix challenge — she’s starting next week!

(And don’t forget, Lee and I are teaming up for a winter remix challenge in a few months! Can’t wait!)

Your turn! Care to share what worked + what didn’t work in your remix challenge? Any style breakthroughs? Any life lessons learned? Would you try it again in the future?

Comments

I agree, the remix challenge wasn’t an easy task but I’m sure glad I did it! I plan to keep doing it as I’ve learned how to love old & forgotten pieces. I created a video lookbook… I’m SO happy with how it turned out! Thanks again for the inspo!

Thank you for the recap! I didn’t do the challenge this time, but I feel inspired after reading this, so I think I’ll get it together to start this Monday. I get my first real post-masters-official-grownup-paycheck in mid-October, so I think this challenge will be good at showing me what I ACTUALLY need as opposed to what I THINK I need. In my mind I have PLENTY of ideas of what to buy for myself with that first paycheck (Beek, Freda Salvador, Bryr, ES anything…. sigh) but since I work with kids, I need to make sure it’s plenty functional and kid-friendly… and won’t make me broke :)

Hi Alyssa,
Me too! I enjoyed observing Caroline’s 10 days but after reading this wrap up post, I’m inspired to start my own 10 days starting today! Plus, I feel more prepared now after doing my wardrobe trimming for the past three weeks to establish a capsule wardrobe. Congrats on your post-masters-official-grownup-paycheck! And thanks for sharing Caroline!
Basant

Hi Caroline, great recap! I hope next time I can try it out. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the winter remix. I am not sure how it will work out for me at my full time job but I really want to take a whack at it! Next time if you have more of a planning process to post, that would be super helpful!

My favourites of yours were dress over jeans – it looks a little cool teacher-y in a really good way. I like the one with the blanket scarf also because the silk tank looks so lovely on you, the silk tank with the vest and actually, I liked #4! I really love that shirt, though I know I wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

The great thing about going through the whole closet rejig is that now more than ever I know what might and mightn’t be my style. I love button ups but they just do not work for me. So I learnt to appreciate them from afar, on other people. And that’s okay!

I did a 10 x 10 in the summer and I’ve posted all outfits on my instagram, but have yet to do a recap. I’m quite happy with my style too, fairly often I wear a piece and catch myself thinking: this would be a great item to have in a 10 x 10! So yes, fascinating! It’s only taken me 2 years.

I would love to see you do a “professional” 10 outfits with 10 pieces in 10 days! I work at a university and I have to dress business casual M-F. I can sometimes wear jeans on a Friday if I don’t have any important meetings.
I think I stress the most about dressing for work and being comfortable. I sit 80% of the time but the other 20% I’m going across campus to meetings, or helping out with events.

And, I live in the sweltering South (Charlotte, NC). The humidity is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Fall kind of comes around in October, but Winter doesn’t even start until Mid-November.

It’s hard to deal with what to wear on those crazy days. I could use some inspiration for office wear! :)

What’s special about Caroline’s blog is that she is authentic about her style as it represents her life, and she is just not an office gal. I would suggest searching youtube for Project 333 and you find a number of office-appropriate capsules. I particularly liked this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr_rnDuB83k

Although, Caroline, maybe you would consider a guest blogger with an office-appropriate capsule?

I loved this challenge! I had to do it slightly different, since I’m in officewear all day, then gym clothes right after that, then pjs when I get home … talk about routine! Lol So I took the pictures (#1 which is the the one you listed of me was my favorite, basic and simple – avoiding decision fatigue at all costs, can u tell..?) and put them on the planning app for android so I can wear them over the course of a few weeks. I liked them all with the exception of my pants. I bought them extra cheap (before I found Un-fancy, that is) and because of my fitness goals I have gone from a size 6 back to a 0 since Christmas so they obviously fit me weird. Same thing with my boyfriend jeans which I love so that was not included but wish it had been… After this challenge, I realized I needed pants. I also have zero pants for work (about 5 dresses and a pencil skirt) so I went out today and got me trousers for the colder months and a girlfriend jeans that I loveee! I can say I loved taking the time to style the outfits a bit so Im sure to jump in to the winter remix! Cant wait!! 💛

This is been a fabulous series, thanks for sharing your journey. I’m starting a new job in a couple of weeks so I’m going to pick out 10 pieces that feel like me in that job and try it then. I’m going to cheat and exclude shoes…. just like I do with a ‘normal’ capsule because that works for me. Can’t wait for your winter series!

This challenge had an extremely relaxing character for me because of the few things to choose from every morning.
And while I felt a bit anxious some time around the middle about having picked too few bottoms, in the end the calmness returned and I had no difficulties whatsoever to put ten (admittedly not so different or innovative) outfits together.
For me, when it comes to social media I often feel the pressure to create (outfit)pictures that are aesthetically pleasant and not so much made for everyday.
This was the first time where it ended up being both :)

Fall definitely seems to be the season of shopping and my online carts were way too full. I decided to get just a few things I knew I needed, like ankle boots and sweaters, and wait on the rest. The other day it was chilly and raining and I realized I don’t have the proper outerwear for such weather. It instantly helped me to know that’s a piece I need to add to my closet. Going forward, I’m using this situation as a reminder that sometimes it is better to start with what we have and wait for situations to arise to help us discover what we are really lacking. I thought about Un-Fancy when this happened, haha, and it made me happy because I know I’m learning so much here. Thank you Caroline!

This challenge was such a fun experiment! The lessons I learned were that I already had a plethora of clothes that fit all my needs, and the reason why I was shopping was to fulfill a want. Totally basic, but it just hit me around day 5 when I realized I hadn’t even wanted to break away from my 10 pieces–and I can happily say that I didn’t! It gives me reassurance that I am more confident in my style than I thought initially, and I learned that my clothes can work so much harder than before if only I’d give them a chance.
This challenge surprisingly brought me peace of mind in regards to my closet, and I happily look forward to what my clothes can do for me this fall. How fascinating! Thanks for always being an inspiration–you and your blog are simply wonderful!

Super fun! Thanks for including me in your little photo round up! Taking fashion photos with a 3 year old and a 1 year old always makes things interesting ;) Loved doing this challenge and blogging about it afterwards. Cleaned out my whole closet after this! Good stuff. xoxo

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